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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Honesty

As I think back on life back at home I often think of the memories I had with my older brother. Why these experiences stick out to me so much I don't know, but the lesson I learned from him were very profound. The summer of 2007 my brother and I and a couple of our friends went down to Magic Mountain, a theme park in the LA area of California. We had a full day of fun and exciting things to do. When the day was winding down it was time for us to leave. As we left the front entrance my brother stopped and told us to wait there. He then walked back to the gates where you pay and started to talk to some of the Six Flags staff. I really had know clue what he was doing. About 5 minutes later he came back and told us what he had just done. A couple years back my brother went to Six Flags with his best friends family. Somehow he cheated the system and didn't pay. It made him feel guilty all these years and he knew that it was not honest of him to do. This is the reason why he went back to talk to the staff. The staff thought he was crazy and even laughed at him when he told them his story and about how he wanted to pay them back in full. They got someone higher up in authority at the theme park and my brother gave him the money. At the time I thought he was crazy, and at that stage of my life I wouldn't let something like that bug me. I would of justified my dishonesty on their high prices. I didn't understand the true meaning of honesty.

An honest person is trustworthy, tells the truth, keeps promises, and people can depend on them. We need to be honest no matter how small or how big the situation is. The honesty of a person reveals much about them. Can we say now at this time in our life that we can be entrusted with something of great importance? Are we honest with our fellow man, family, friends, ourselves, and the Lord? Dishonesty can destroy our relationships with others. The more we are dishonest the more conditioned and prone we are to be a dishonest person. We can change...make steps to change and trust in God that he will help you. "Being honest often requires courage and sacrifice, especially when others try to persuade us to justify dishonest behavior. If we find ourselves in such a situation, we can remember that the lasting peace that comes from being honest is more valuable than the momentary relief of following the crowd". See True to the Faith (2004), 84 You will see a greater light, peace, and confidence in your life when you can say, "I am an honest person". I can testify as we strive to be more honest in every aspect of our life we will become more like our Savior Jesus Christ and his light will shine through us.

Elder it's amazing to me that I happened to come onto facebook just in time to see you had written this story. I needed to hear that. Thanks. I have a letter written to you waiting to be sent so I promise I will be more diligent and actually send it :)Thank you for taking the time to write this story. I know it has helped me to evaluate my honesty and I'm sure it has helped many others! That trip comes up in my mind very often and John was such a good example! Enjoy the field Elder and the spirit that is there!-Cheryl